Configure the Timesheet Settings and Defaults page
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Topic Last Modified: 2016-11-14
Every organization has different criterion and standards to track utilization. For example, some are governed by labor laws that mandate that a specific number of hours are worked per day. This means that the organization must review the options for Timesheet Settings and Defaults and choose the appropriate options.
Tasks Settings and Display dictate options for users within the My Tasks page. Timesheet Settings and Defaults administer user options in the My Timesheets page. Timesheet Settings and Defaults can be customized for an organization before the organization's team members create timesheets.
Perform the following steps to access the Timesheet Settings and Defaults page:
Log in to Project Web Access as Administrator.
Click Server Settings.
In the Time and Task Management section, click Timesheet Settings and Defaults.
The Timesheet Settings and Defaults page contains the following sections:
Outlook Display. Options to display different types of work within the Outlook Timesheet interface. The Outlook Add-in is downloaded on a per-user basis and must be installed to provide access to the end user. The topic regarding My Tasks page contains more information about these options.
Project Web Access Display. Options to display different types of work within the Project Web Access (PWA) timesheet.
Default Timesheet Creation Mode. Options to display Projects, task assignments from projects, or neither when a timesheet is created. The end-user can add additional line items of either type.
Timesheet Grid Column Units. Option that controls whether cells in the grid represent one day or one week.
Default Reporting. Option to report actual work in hours or days. Also defines how many hours equal one day or one week.
Hourly Reporting Limits. Parameter to limit the minimum and maximum number of hours that can be reported per timesheet or day. The maximum number 999 represents "unlimited" to the timesheet system.
Timesheet Policies. Two options, one to report time in the future and one to allow users to add line items that are not associated with a project server item that is already defined. If you are required to support DCAA regulations, these options should be disabled.
Auditing. Creates a log file where each saved timesheet transaction is recorded for auditing.
Approval Routing. When it is enabled, this option prevents the end user from selecting a different Timesheet Approver when timesheets are submitted.
Outlook Display
Previous versions of Project Server contain an Outlook Integration feature that enables team members to review and report on their project task assignments from within Outlook. In Microsoft Office Project Server 2007, progress can still be entered on assignments.
The inclusion of timesheets to the Outlook Integration feature is a new feature in Office Project Server 2007. Users can record and update to their PWA timesheet.
The following options define the information that displays on timesheets in Outlook, depending on the business need:
Actual Hours and Scheduled Hours
Actual, Overtime, and Scheduled Hours
Billable, Non Billable, Overtime, and Scheduled Hours. This option is enabled by default.
The third option enables users to capture the actual hours that are billable and non-billable for the line item. Billable is the amount of hours that are charged for the work that is performed. Non-billable is the amount of hours that are not charged.
Project Web Access display
There is an option to display and enter Overtime and Non-billable hours when utilization is tracked in a Timesheet. Team members select Show/Hide Overtime Work or Show/Hide Non-Billable Work from the Actions menu in the Timesheet.
With the Project Web Access Display option enabled, the Timesheet uses standard Overtime and Non-Billable Time tracking and the toggle command on the Actions menu is available. The toggle command is enabled by default in Server Settings.
When the Project Web Access Display option is not enabled, the toggle actions to display and enter Overtime Hours and Non-Billable Hours are not available. If your organization tracks overtime or billing status at a greater granularity than what is provided, we recommend that you substitute the Administrative Classifications for the default Overtime and Non-Billable classifications.
Default Timesheet Creation Mode
The Default Timesheet Creation Mode option defines the information that the timesheet contains by default when it is created. In the Timesheet List, team members can choose from four types of Timesheets to track their utilization.
Create with Default Settings. This Timesheet displays the Administrative Time categories that are marked Always Display and the option that is selected for Default Timesheet Creation Mode.
Create with Tasks. This Timesheet displays the assignments where progress has been entered or where work has been scheduled but not yet performed.
Create with Projects. This timesheet displays current active project names where the user is a project team member. Progress is entered in this case at the upper-most project level.
Do not Autopopulate. This timesheet is blank.
The timesheet automatically populates with the Administrative Time categories that are marked Always Display and the setting for Default Timesheet Creation Mode, unless the user selects one of the other options above.
The Timesheet Settings and Defaults page defines how Timesheets are prepopulated for the organization. Users still have the ability to override the defaults.
Users can choose from the following options on the Timesheet Setting and Defaults page:
Current task assignments. This option is enabled by default. The timesheet contains Administrative tasks and the resource’s current task assignments from all projects to which they are assigned.
Current Projects. The Timesheet contains Administrative time and a list of projects to which the resource is assigned. No individual tasks display.
No prepopulation. This timesheet only contains Administrative time.
Timesheet Grid Column Units
Timesheet Grid Column Units determines which units track utilization, Days or Weeks, for all Timesheet types. The default timesheet tracking units show in days.
If Weeks is specified when the Timesheet is created, each column in the Timesheet represents seven days. If the Timesheet Period is greater than seven days, the Timesheet displays the next seven days. For example, if the period is 15 days, there are three columns.
How the dates for the time period headings are calculated and displayed is a factor of which timesheet the user is working with currently, how the time periods were defined originally, and the standard period length setting. The Administrator uses Timesheet Period to set the last two factors.
Default Reporting Units
Utilization is tracked either in Hours or Days. By default, the timesheet units are set to hours.
If the timesheet units are changed to Days when the timesheet is created, the planned work is viewed in days. When the resource enters a number value, the value is interpreted as days. For example, 0.5 equals one-half of one day’s work.
Another option in the Default Reporting Units is the number of hours in a standard timesheet day and the number of hours in a standard timesheet work week. Globally, each company has different standardizations. Some are governed by labor laws, and these options must be set accordingly. Override is possible by adding the unit designator to numeric time value; for example, 8h = 8 hours and 8d = 8 days, regardless of the system setting.
Hourly Reporting Limits
The Hourly Reporting Limits feature enables Project Web Access administrators to place restrictions on valid values that can be entered for time tracking. Zero is the minimum and 998 is the maximum value that is possible. “999” is specially treated by the system as an unlimited maximum. The Administrator can further restrict the values to the following:
Maximum Hours per Timesheet. This value is set to 999 by default.
Minimum Hours per Timesheet. This value is set to 0 by default.
Maximum Hours per Day. This value is set to 999 by default.
If an invalid value is entered, an error message displays. The timesheet cannot be saved or submitted until a valid value is entered.
Timesheet Policies
Two timesheet policies apply to users to comply with an organization's accounting and regulatory requirements. Both are enabled by default in Timesheet Settings and Display and should be disabled for organizations that have requirements to support DCAA time tracking procedures.
Allow future time reporting. With this option enabled, team members can create timesheets that extend beyond the current timesheet period.
Allow unverified timesheets line items. With this option enabled, team members are enabled to add new line items. Within the timesheet, the line item shows Unverified for the Project Name. This signifies that the line item is not associated with a project plan or an assignment. If this option is disabled, the Type a name for the new timesheet line item is removed from the Add Lines dialog box. Team Members can only select from existing assignments.
Auditing
In Office Project Server 2007, Timesheets is used to track utilization and is required to be compliant with the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), which is run by the U.S. Depart of Defense. The DCAA is an organization that oversees budget and finance matters for the United States government. This organization's policies determine procedures for billing and contracting, including the ability to audit labor entries on government projects.
Organizations can enable Timesheet Auditing to record changes that are saved to timesheets during creation, approval, and adjustments. This is accomplished by enabling the Enabled Timesheet Auditing option.
When Timesheet Auditing is enabled, transactions in the Timesheet are stored to the MSP_Timesheet_Actual_Audit table in the ProjectServer_Published database, where the data is retrieved for an audit review. If this option is enabled during the project life cycle, records accumulate in the table. The Purge Log button enables PWA Administrators to drop the records from the MSP_Timesheet_Actual_Audit table. This action does not remove project actuals in the timesheet. Project actuals are stored in the MSP_Timesheet_Actuals table.
Approval Routing
After team members enter progress or changes on their assignments via the Tasks page in Microsoft Office Project Server 2003, those changes are submitted for approval to the last person that published the assignments. In Office Project Server 2007, the process to update assignments is similar if only the Task Center is used to update assignment progress. However, if progress is entered for assignments in the timesheets (because timesheets are used primarily to update non-project work), that assignment progress must be imported into the My Tasks page before the progress can be submitted to the Project Manager for update into the project.
Approving Timesheets in Office Project Server 2007 follows a different process than the process that is used for task or assignment updates. When team members submit timesheets, they can be the approver or the team member can choose an approver from a drop-down menu. An approver can also be assigned to the team member via Manage Users. The approver can designate a second-level Timesheet Manager to approve the timesheet. Depending on an organization’s timesheet approval requirements, Timesheets can be accepted multiple times before they reach the final approver.
There is an option to have a Fixed Approval Routing. This option is selected in the Timesheet Settings and Defaults page in the Approval Routing section.
When Fixed Approval Routing is enabled, users can submit their Timesheet to their designated Timesheet Manager directly (no drop-down menu option to select an approver) for final approval or for alternate routing.
This option is disabled by default. Team Members who submit their Timesheet can send the Timesheet to their Timesheet Manager or select from a list of alternate Timesheet Acceptors. This list contains the approvers who have the Accept Timesheets user global permission enabled.
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